
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 13, 1991                   TAG: 9102130571
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT                                LENGTH: Short

INJUNCTION BLOCKS CEMETERY FROM SALES

A prosecutor has won a temporary injunction blocking the new owner of Franklin Memorial Gardens from selling cemetery plots or pre-need burial contracts.

Franklin County Commonwealth's Attorney Cliff Hapgood sought the injuction last week on the grounds that the new owner, Cedar Lawn Memorial Park, Inc., does not have a valid permit from the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

Hapgood said the company sold services despite having been informed by the Division of Consumer Affairs that its application was incomplete.

Circuit Judge B.A. Davis III signed an order Saturday granting an injunction until Feb. 19, when a hearing is scheduled in Franklin County Circuit Court.

The cemetery's new owner, Patrick Rooney of Milton, W.Va., said last week that his company was reviewing plot assignments and offering owners pre-burial contracts.

On Tuesday, Hapgood said he sought the injunction after receiving several consumer complaints about the company's sales practices.

by CNB